More Information

Ever since joining forces in the summer of 2012, John Torres and Meredith DiMenna have been a bare bones operation, subsisting on little more than acoustic guitars, vocals and the occasional glockenspiel.

Over time, however, the duo's sonic ambitions have outgrown this modest architecture. So on their debut EP, Torres and DiMenna built a bigger house -- a space where their sound has emerged fully formed and majestic.

Torres and DiMenna, otherwise known as Oh, Cassius!, will celebrate the release of the record at a highly-anticipated performance at Fairfield Theatre Company's StageOne on Thursday, July 17.

Backed by an eight-piece band featuring an all-star cast of in-state musicians, the Connecticut Music Award-winning duo will share songs from "Ides of March," a collection of rapturous indie-folk anthems propelled by their signature ground-shaking vocal harmonies.

"We're both anticipating this a lot," DiMenna, of Bridgeport, said in a phone interview last week. "We've kicked it up a notch from when it was just the two of us playing brunch. It's an artistic statement."

Recorded primarily at Stamford's Carriage House Studios, "Ides of March" is the culmination of a creative chemistry experiment that began two years ago at a multi-act showcase at Stratford's FTS Gallery. After contributing to each other's projects, Torres and DiMenna arranged to perform together that night. A synergy soon emerged.

"It became immediately obvious that two of us singing together was a strong thing," DiMenna said. "We thought, `This is it. This is the aesthetic we're looking for.' "

Barring the occasional side venture, Torres and DiMenna dropped everything they were doing to pursue Oh, Cassius! full time. The experiment, which began as an Americana-styled outfit in the vein of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, has taken on an epic tone that's more at home in today's flourishing arena-folk landscape.

Torres and DiMenna were aided in the musical barn-raising by a who's who of Connecticut musicians: indie rock duo Mates of State, who collaborated with Torres and DiMenna on the haunting closing track, "Irish Goodbye"; rising singer/songwriter Ada Pasternak and String Fingers Band member Dan Tressler, both of whom played violin on opening track, "I Can't Win"; and pianist and programmer Scott Packham, who helped flesh out the record's electronic dimension. Brendan Muldowney, a Grammy-winning engineer, made his production debut on the EP.

Lyrically, DiMenna said, "The album represents a dialogue, a journey" in which she and Torres play characters in each other's narratives. On "Carpenter," the EP's astounding lead single, Torres takes the starring role, a fickle lover who desires intimacy one minute and space the next.

"I will show you all my bridges, burned them all in time," he sings on the chorus. "But I am a carpenter. Build them all back new. Just to burn them back to ashes and start again with you."

"We love and then all of a sudden we need space. We love again, and then we need space," Torres said of the song. "I did that with so many relationships."

Added DiMenna, who has been on "the other side" of that situation: "When we were writing that song, I was trying to find the girl's reaction. I said, `Yeah, I know what this is, I've seen it all before.' "

Stripped down to their essence, Torres and DiMenna's songs thrive in the cozy, dimly lit pubs and cafes in which they have traditionally performed. But, after the release of "Ides of March," their music may need more room to breathe. The Fairfield Theatre Company is an excellent start. But there may be a time in the near future when Torres and DiMenna find themselves under an even larger roof, their lush, majestic sound reaching the ears of thousands of listeners.

"I've never gotten to this point with a band before -- it's a huge moment in my life," Torres said. "This is the time we say, OK, no looking back. We're going full steam ahead and taking this band to next level."